People often lose their keys. Losing a key is aggravating and can be very expensive. Often a person must call a locksmith to change the locks on their home or to open a vehicle. Further, most vehicle keys today have microchips implanted in them and a person often is required to order a new key from the dealership and wait until that key is shipped to them. In the event the person previously lost their spare key, or are out of town, they may be without their vehicle for days.
FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art standard key blank 100. Key blank 100 includes a bow 110 having a hole 105 there through and a blade 115. Key blank 100 also includes a groove 120. In addition, some key blanks 100 include a microchip 140. Microchip 140 may be programmed, for example, to communicate with a specific vehicle. FIG. 2 illustrates a standard prior art “cut” key 200, or a “master” key. Master key as used herein refers to a key that is to be copied irrespective of whether that key may be used to open a single lock or a number of locks. For example, if a person brings in their house key to be copied, this key may be referred to as a master key. Key 200 includes a bow 210 having a hole 205 there through and a blade 215. Key 200 includes a groove 220. In addition, key 200 includes a plurality of teeth 225 and notches 230. The teeth 225 and notches 230 are referred to as “bittings” or bitting patterns. Bittings typically have different depths, widths, spacing and frequencies. Key 200 may also include microchip 240. In such instances, microchip 240 is typically programmed to communicate with a specific vehicle to enable key 200 to start that vehicle.